title: Role of the social milieu in health and wellness.
abstract: Can "we" be modified? The impact of the social milieu on health and wellness is not a new concept. Before the invention of an effective pharmacopoeia, manipulation of the social environment was one of the few tools available to physicians. Modern medicine continues to focus on individual rather than community efforts at risk reduction. To understand health and wellness, we must look not only at bodies and illnesses but also at communities and social structure. This article discusses the impact of spirituality and religion, education, economics, and politics on health and wellness. The impact of these issues on health will drive system-level change in global health.
authors.affiliation: Family Medicine, Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Box 250592, 295 Calhoun Street, Charleston, SC 29425, USA. mallinr@musc.edu
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mallin
authors.forename: Sharon K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Hull
mesh_terms: D006304:Health Status; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D011056:Political Systems; D012931:Social Environment; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D029181:Spirituality